Espio the Chameleon
is a fictional character from the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. He is an anthropomorphic chameleon, who mainly serves as an intelligent ninja warrior and a member of the Chaotix Detective Agency. There, he works together with Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee to solve whatever cases they are given, where he puts his skills to good use. While initially a hothead when introduced, Espio has since become a calm, soft-spoken, serious, and disciplined person whose wariness and soulful character makes him a vital member of his team, and balances out the foolishness of his friends. Appearance Espio is a purple chameleon with a yellow horn between his gold eyes and a ridge of three black scales down his spine and a coiled tail. He wears dark purple and black shoes with elaborate cuffs, white gloves with a purple back, and studded bands around his wrists and ankles. Personality .]] A straight-laced detective, Espio is serious, practical, intelligent and wise. He has a militaristic discipline despite being quiet and laid-back. Espio is additionally portrayed as being stubborn, opinionated and self-obsessed. Despite this, he has an excellent drive to all that he does and flourishes off of peril, getting himself into threatening situations to flex and polish his ninja skills, and, due to his extensive training, he can confront these troubles head-on unconcerned by danger. Espio values his freedom more than anything else, and in the wake of being caught in Dr. Robotnik's Combi Machine, he looked to stop the evil scientist no matter what. This is due to his reserved demeanor, which hides a burning sense of justice and a refusal to let evil have its way. As such, Espio gives the impression of a rather ruthless demeanor when facing villains; when encountering Dr. Eggman in ''Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, the usual civil and soft-spoken chameleon would make threats at the doctor's life. Espio is also seen as a ninja-based character; his battle poses and shuriken stars support that portrayal. Also in the Japanese script, the pronouns he uses to refer to himself is usually ware, and the more archaic onushi pronoun for referring to others. History ''Knuckles' Chaotix'' Espio first appeared in Knuckles' Chaotix for the Sega 32X. In the English manual, he is described as the hot-headed friend of Knuckles the Echidna (the surprisingly sophisticated Charmy Bee is said to keep him from losing his temper) and is visiting "Carnival Island" when Dr. Robotnik attacks it. The Japanese manual states that Espio, a detective, went to investigate the mysterious island that emerged from the sea. In both cases, he is attacked by Dr. Robotnik and Metal Sonic who try to capture him. Knuckles saves him from the two, and Espio automatically becomes his partner character for the training stage. After this, Espio can be chosen in the Combi Catcher prior to stages. Espio can walk on walls, ceilings, and use his own Whirl Attack instead of the common Spin Attack. ''Sonic the Fighters'' In Sonic the Fighters, Epsio had been entrusted to safeguard one of the Chaos Emeralds to keep Dr. Robotnik from abusing it. When Dr. Robotnik later constructed the Death Egg II, which he used to deploy hordes of robots to lay the world to the world with, Espio sent Tails an emergency message containing a video of the Death Egg II deploying its robot armies to help Sonic and Tails. Soon after, Espio joined the fighting tournament held to decide which one among the Chaos Emerald guardians was the strongest. If Espio could defeat all the contestants, he would earn the right to use all the Chaos Emeralds for Tails's single-seat Lunar Fox and travel to the Death Egg II and destroy it.(June 1996) "Sonic the Fighters" (in Japanese). Gamest. Retrieved 15 July 2018. At the end of the tournament, the victor used the Chaos Emeralds to go to the Death Egg II and made it self-destruct moments after escaping it. ''Sonic Heroes'' .]] In ''Sonic Heroes, Espio, Vector and Charmy have formed a detective agency (previously, only Espio was described as "a detective"). They are contacted by an anonymous client via a walkie-talkie that was delivered to them. Espio does not entirely trust the voice, but Vector and Charmy had accepted the assignment after they get promised a reward of money, with Espio tagging along anyway after Vector reminds him of their policy to never turn down work that pays. In the game, Espio is the speed member of Team Chaotix, meaning he can run quicker than the others and creates small whirlwinds for various purposes. Unlike the speed members of the other three teams, Espio can turn invisible, throw large shurikens (ninja stars) and stick to walls indefinitely. He and the other two also have a run-in with Team Dark and Team Rose, the former due to Rouge believing them to be after Eggman's treasure and their likewise believing that Team Dark are affiliated with Eggman, and the latter due to a misunderstanding that causes Cream to think they had abducted Chocola the Chao after Espio tells her to give Cheese over to him. At the end of their story, the client is rescued from Eggman's base and turns out to be Dr. Eggman himself, to Espio's surprise. Eggman reveals that he had been betrayed and captured by the evil Neo Metal Sonic, who has gathered everyone's data and then transforms into Metal Madness shortly after. Team Chaotix had the Chaos Emeralds throughout the game, with Espio holding the red one. Team Chaotix then stalls Metal Madness in order to buy time for Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to turn into their Super States. At the end of the game, Eggman tries to sneak away, but the Chaotix chase after him to collect their promised reward. ''Shadow the Hedgehog'' In Shadow the Hedgehog, Espio and Team Chaotix were working on a big case, one which details they did not share with outsiders. Mad Matrix As a part of their investigation, the Chaotix went to Dr. Eggman's base where Espio tried hacking Eggman's computer despite data retrieval not being his specialty. While Espio was being pestered to hurry by his team, Shadow arrived. Convinced to help them, Shadow opened a portal to the Mad Matrix, which Espio followed Shadow through upon Vector's order to get the info they sought from the databases. Inside cyberspace, Espio requested Shadow's aid for his mission. In the Hero scenario where Shadow helps Espio, the two came across Eggman in his Egg Breaker, who fed Shadow with lies about his past. However, Espio convinced Shadow to focus on beating Eggman and provided support for him in the following battle. Last Story In the last story, the Chaotix had arrived on the Space Colony ARK, where Espio was chosen to hack the ARK's main computer to recover some data. As the team put pressure on Espio about the urgency of his work, though, Charmy lost his patience and rammed the computer. This resulted in the Chaotix getting access to a video by Gerald Robotnik which played all around the world and gave Shadow the determination to defeat the Black Arms once and for all. ''Sonic Rivals 2'' In Sonic Rivals 2, Espio was sent on a mission by Vector to gather evidence on Silver the Hedgehog who had been accused of kidnapping Chao. When Espio found Silver, though, the hedgehog noticed him. Failing to provide a decent cover for himself, Espio simply ran away from him. However, this called the attention of Metal Sonic nearby, whom Espio had to escape from as well, which culminated in a race between them. Espio soon tracked Silver down again and introduced himself, but before he could question Silver, Dr. Eggman Nega appeared, initially disguised as Dr. Eggman but Silver called his bluff. Although confused, Espio worked with Silver to destroy Eggman Nega's Egg Liner despite inference from Shadow and Metal Sonic. Afterward, Espio returned to spying on Silver, although he started to question the hedgehog's intents. He later saw Sonic and Tails getting involved in the case as well and chased Tails down to try and get whatever info they had gathered on him and dissuade the duo from interfering, but failed. Espio finally confronted Silver with the Chao kidnappings, to which Silver replied it was to save the world. Before Espio could get answers about that, though, Eggman Nega attacked them with his Egg Crawler which he and Espio destroyed even as Sonic and Tails arrived on the scene. After failing to follow Eggman Nega, Espio chose to believe in Silver's claims and promised to help him hide the Chao. They soon found Knuckles and Rouge with some Chao and they made a plan to distract them. To buy Silver time to get a Chao, Espio lured Rogue away with the Chaos Emerald she had just found. He soon agreed to a fight with Rouge over the ownership of the Emerald and the Chao, where Espio acquired the Chao despite losing the Emerald. Reuniting with Silver, the hedgehog revealed to Espio, since Espio had proven himself trustworthy, that Eggman Nega wanted to unleash a monster called the Ifrit on the world to destroy it. However, Eggman interrupted them with his Egg Dealer which the duo beat while contending with Knuckles and Rouge just as they arrived at the fight. Soon after in another location, Espio had Silver elaborate that Eggman Nega wanted to feed the Chao to the Ifrit which would make the beast invisible. Seeing that Silver was exhausted, though, Espio agreed to find some Rings to recharge him. Seeing Sonic and Tails were collecting them, Espio cut Sonic off and got away with some of his Rings which helped rejuvenate Silver. Just then, though, Eggman Nega showed up with his Egg Bull while Sonic and Tails arrived to interrogate the doctor. In the end, the heroes beat the doctor. Though Espio and Silver continued their hunt for Chao, Eggman Nega showed up to gloat that he already had enough Chao for the Ifrit and had hidden them in a secret room. Espio and Silver thus worked together to find the Chao, although Espio got slowed down by Rouge. Having failed to find the Chao, Espio reconvened with Silver, only to face Eggman Nega's Egg Phantom while contending with Shadow and Knuckles. Despite Espio and Silver emerging victorious, Eggman opened the portal to the Ifrit's dimension but saw that his Chao had been freed by Sonic and Tails. As Eggman Nega summoned Metal Sonic 3.0 to awaken the Ifrit, Espio and Silver followed it into the portal to stop the robot. When they did, though, they learned it was just a decoy and that the Ifrit had been awoken in the meantime. However, the portal started to close, so Espio and Silver kept the Ifrit from leaving its dimension and left Eggman Nega trapped in there with it. Returning home, Espio thanked Silver for his help as they parted ways. Espio still ended up getting cited by Vector, however, as he had failed to complete his original assignment. ''Sonic Colors'' Espio appears in the Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors, having been sent on a job with his team to investigate Eggman's theme park. Sonic and Tails run into him, as well as the other Chaotix, in Planet Wisp. The name "Espio" is also one of the default file names on the Wii version. ''Sonic Generations'' In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, Espio attended and helped prepare Sonic's surprise birthday party. As the party began, however, the Time Eater suddenly appeared and Espio was sucked into one of the Time Eater's Time Holes and ended up in the White Space, where he was turned into a statue due to the Time Eater's effects. Eventually, Espio was returned to normal by Sonic and Classic Sonic. When the Sonics confronted the Time Eater in its domain, where the monster was revealed to be controlled by Dr. Eggman and Classic Eggman, Espio arrived at the place with the others and cheered on both Sonics, allowing them both to transform into Super Sonics. When the Sonics defeated the Time Eater, Espio, and the others were sent back to the time where Sonic's party was taking place. Resuming with the celebration, Espio later waved goodbye to Classic Sonic and Classic Tails when they returned to their own world. ''Sonic Forces'' In Sonic Forces, Espio and his colleagues were alongside those who formed the Resistance after Dr. Eggman defeated Sonic (and seemingly killed him) and began his conquest of the world. At some point after the takeover, Espio and Team Chaotix would organize the City's forces until Eggman invaded it a few days later. When a rookie soldier proved unable to help shore up defenses, Espio offered him a Burst Wispon. However, Espio took it back after the rookie accidentally shot Charmy in his backside. Espio and his allies soon after got thrown into an all-out battle when Eggman's robots breached the City's gate. Thankfully, the rookie was able to end the battle by damaging Eggman's invasion airship with an artillery cannon. Commending the rookie for his actions, Espio worked with his team to begin evacuation of the City.Sonic Forces: Moment of Truth, "Moment of Truth" After six months of warfare, during which the Resistance had failed to make much progress against the Eggman Empire, who had conquered over 99% of the world, Espio and the Resistance's other core members discussed how the people had become too terrified to fight back. Espio was then introduced to their newest recruit before learning from Rouge that Sonic was alive and being held hostage onboard the newly-rebuilt Death Egg. Espio and the others thus went to the Spaceport to steal a shuttle. During the attack, Espio warned his teammates that the "masked one" was there, but managed nonetheless to keep the enemies busy while the Resistance procured a shuttle. Espio and a squad of soldiers then went to the Death Egg, having discovered that Eggman had moved Sonic's execution ahead of schedule after catching wind of their rescue mission. On the Death Egg however, Espio and his unit were forced to deal with robots while trying to find their way out. Fortunately, the Avatar managed to find and rescue Sonic. Espio later fought Eggman's forces at Seaside Hill before coming over to Park Avenue to stop an Eggman Army invasion. At first, Espio and his unit were too busy fighting enemies, but thanks to the Avatar, they were able to secure an escape route for the civilians while the Eggman Army withdrew. When Tails and Classic Sonic (who had been brought to Espio's dimension by Eggman's new power) later joined the Resistance, Espio learned of Eggman's plan to eliminate the Resistance in three days. Discovering a day later that Eggman's HQ in Metropolis was undermanned, Espio took part in Knuckles' full frontal assault on Metropolis. However, when Infinite (Eggman's new henchman) appeared and used his Phantom Ruby prototype to cast the Resistance's army into chaos, Espio's advice on living to fight another day led to the remaining Resistance army withdrawing from Metropolis. In the aftermath, Espio and the Resistance launched another plan to destroy the Death Egg, the power supply for Eggman's Phantom Rubies, in order to shut these weapons down. The plan eventually succeeded, and Espio would watch the destruction of the Death Egg from the Resistance HQ. However, the Resistance discovered while capturing Metropolis that Eggman had a backup reactor for his Phantom Rubies underneath the Eggman Empire Fortress. With less than an hour before Eggman put his endgame into effect, Espio and the Resistance launched one final attack on Eggman's tower in hopes of stopping the Phantom Rubies. As they fought their way through the army of replicas, E-123 Omega came to their rescue when Infinite got ready to finish them off. It was then, however, that Infinite launched Eggman's plan: using his Phantom Ruby, he got ready to drop a sun on the Resistance and kill them all. While Espio was at a loss of what to do, the Avatar was able to neutralize Infinite's sun in the last second using a Phantom Ruby prototype. This allowed Espio and the rest to resume the war on the battlefield while Sonic and the Avatar destroyed Infinite and the Phantom Rubies' reactor. Eggman, however, had foreseen this and his used his original Phantom Ruby in conjunction with his Death Egg Robot to create thousands of replicas to overwhelm Espio and the rest with. Fortunately, Sonic, the Avatar and Classic Sonic beat Eggman and destroyed his robot, which made his replica army vanish and left the Resistance as the victors. After watching Classic Sonic return to his own dimension now that the Phantom Ruby was gone, Espio and his friends followed Sonic's example and set out rid the world of all traces of Eggman's reign. At a last meeting in the HQ, Knuckles disbanded the Resistance as the Avatar announced their departure, whom Espio expressed his respect to. The friends then agreed with Tails that even though they were going back to their old lives, they would be friends forever and keep working together to restore the world. ''Team Sonic Racing'' In Team Sonic Racing, Espio and Charmy Bee performed a secret investigation on Dodon Pa during the events of Dodon Pa's Grand Prix. Eventually, he sent a report of their findings to Vector. Other game appearances and cameos ''Sonic Rivals'' Espio appears as two collectible cards in Sonic Rivals. ''Mario & Sonic'' series ''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games'' Espio appears as one of the referees in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. It may have been that he was once supposed to be playable, but no evidence to that has been provided to date. He is playable to some extent through hacks of the game. ''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games'' Espio appears once again as a referee in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. He is seen either standing next to the starting gate or firing a starting pistol. In the DS version, Espio will tell you how many white stones are left on Winter Island (Frostown, Polastraits, Icepeak). You can also unlock an Espio outfit that your Mii can wear. ''Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games'' Espio also appears again as a referee in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. His Mii costume can also be unlocked in the Blank Exchange, or given to you as a present. ''Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games'' Espio returns as a referee in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. He also appears as a cameraman. ''Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games'' Espio returns in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, being playable in the series for the first time. He is exclusive to the Triple Jump event. ''Super Smash Bros.'' series ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Espio appears as a Sticker: ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' In ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'', Espio appears as a trophy: ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Espio appears as a part of the Chaotix spirit with Vector and Charmy. They are a Novice class primary spirit and are a Grab Type. To earn the Chaotix, the player must win a spirit battle against their puppet fighters of Sonic, Pichu and King K. Rool. ''Sonic and the Black Knight'' Espio never actually appears in Sonic and the Black Knight, but one of the default file names given is "Espio". ''Sonic Dash'' In Sonic Dash, Espio makes an appearance as a playable character. In this game, he can be unlocked in the following ways: *Pay 10 Red Star Rings (Amazon version only) *Collect 100 Espio Character Tokens (Amazon Fire Phone only) *Collect 400 Espio Character Tokens (Windows Store only) *Buy online *Complete the Espio event ''Sonic Runners'' series ''Sonic Runners'' .]] In ''Sonic Runners, Espio is a playable Speed Type character in the game. In gameplay, he can use a triple jump and boost the number of collected Rings by 75%. During the "Birthday on Windy Hill" event, Espio was going to Sonic's birthday party with Team Chaotix when they got kidnapped by Dr. Eggman. They soon escaped their holding place, but not before learning that Eggman plotted something in a nearby base. When they found Team Sonic, Espio, on Vector's order, used his camouflage skills to give Sonic a birthday surprise before telling them about Eggman. Though the info turned out to be a trap, Espio rejoined Sonic at the party after Eggman was beaten. There, he expressed gratitude at Sonic's efforts. ''Sonic Runners Adventure'' In Sonic Runners Adventure, Espio is a playable character that can be unlocked by spending 2000 Rings upon reaching level 5 in Green Hill. He retains his triple jump and the Speed/Chaotix-type from the predecessor, with the "Chaotix" bonus here changing 30% of Rings into Super Rings for a limited time. ''Sonic Forces: Speed Battle'' In Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, Espio is a playable character with the following stats that are applied in gameplay: Powers and abilities By his own accords, Espio is a powerful adversary as he says it would take no less than a "mighty foe" to do him in.Sonic Team (November 11, 2011). Sonic Generations. PC. Sega. Area/level: White Space. "Espio the Chameleon: It takes a mighty foe to trap a ninja. Be on your guard, Sonic." Having undergone extensive ninja training, Espio is a master of ninjutsu, a form of martial arts that employs stealth and trickery against foes. He is likewise a fierce foe in direct combat as he has been able to match Rouge the Bat in battle, who has undergone similar forms of combat training and could fight Knuckles the Echidna to a standstill. As a Speed Type, Espio possesses great speed. As demonstrated in Sonic Rivals 2, he can run at speeds compatible to Sonic and Shadow's and his swiftness is potent enough to let him fool his enemies by appearing in different spots nigh-instantaneously.File:Espio profile SG.png While not shown to the same extension as Knuckles, Espio has impressive physical strength, using sharp karate chops powerful enough to shatter obstacles and smash robots.Shadow the Hedgehog Espio also has extreme acrobatic skills, doing complex and nimble jumps in midairSonic Team (November 11, 2011). Sonic Generations. PC. Sega. Cutscene: Rescuing Espio. and grinding on rails with ease. Espio also has very impressive durability and endurance, seen as he is able to withstand Sonic's Homing Attacks indefinitely and keep fighting in Espio: Master of Camouflage. Being a chameleon, Espio possesses a stealth camouflage trick that lets him change his color scheme to match his environment. His camouflage is so effective that he is rendered completely invisible to the naked eye and allows him to pass by unnoticed.Sonic Heroes (GameCube) United States instruction manual, pg. 12. Being a skilled ninja he is also a master of non-camouflaged stealth which combined with his camouflaging abilities makes him virtually undetectable. Espio also possesses an extremely keen sense of awareness of his surroundings on both the physical and empathic plane, detecting Team Dark nearby despite the group being out his field of vision, Sonic's presence aboard the Death Egg, and the soul of the Time Eater.Sonic Team (February 6, 2004). Sonic Heroes. PlayStation 2. Sega. Cutscene: Team Dark.Sonic Team (November 11, 2011). Sonic Generations. PC. Sega. Area/level: White Space. "Espio the Chameleon: Thank you, my friend. Beware, for I have looked into the soul of our enemy and I saw only darkness." Like a real lizard, Espio is able to climb along any surface and stick to them for an unprecedented amount of time.Sonic Team (November 11, 2011). Sonic Generations. PC. Sega. Area/level: Espio: Master of CamouflageSonic Heroes (GameCube) United States instruction manual, pg. 18. As seen in Sonic the Fighters, he also possesses a prehensile tongue which he can use as a short-range projectile attack in combat and as a grappling hook. Espio has also demonstrated the ability to harness chaos energy from the Chaos Emerald to enter Hyper Mode. .]] Though not a hedgehog, Espio is able to use the Spin Attack and the various techniques derived from it, where he curls tightly into a concussive ball while in locomotion to damage, mow down, or burrow through obstacles and foes. The Homing Attack allows Espio to dash in mid-air toward a target, the Spin Jump lets him curl into a ball and attack opponent by landing on them, and the Spin Dash lets him shoot himself forward as an acceleration roll at full speed while mowing down enemies and obstacles. Espio's signatures moves are the ones that combine his ninja skills with his camouflage trick. The Leaf Swirl lets Espio combine his camouflage with a Ninja Leaf Swirl maneuver to create a tornado to blow opponents away while he disappears, his Chroma Camo maneuver hides himself completely from his enemies' perception while increasing his speed, and his Ninja Arts: Camouflage both hides himself completely from enemies' perception while he "warps" between places to disorient the enemy while attacking. Another ninja-based attack includes his Shuriken where he throws a shuriken star at foes. As a member of the Chaotix Detective Agency, Espio has a keen, analytical mind and experience in investigation and gathering intel. While also having experience in solving mysteries,Sonic Rivals 2 he is not as skilled in that field as Vector. He also has some skill in hacking computers for data as seen in Shadow the Hedgehog, although he has admitted it is not his specialty.Sonic Team (November 18, 2005). Shadow the Hedgehog. PlayStation 2. Sega. Area/Level: Mad Matrix. "Espio the Chameleon: Hey, back off! Data retrieval isn't exactly my specialty" Thanks to his ninja training, Espio is proficient with several forms of ninja-based weaponry. He is especially a master of throwing kunai,SEGA (23 June 2016). Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Wii U. Nintendo. Area/Level: Collectibles (Flags). "This straight-laced detective is the voice of reason in the Chaotix Detective Agency, but his reserved demeanor hides a burning sense of justice and a refusal to let evil have its way. Trained as a ninja, this chameleon is a master at throwing kunai, and can vanish using his Leaf Swirl technique." capable of striking targets with pin-point accuracy while only barely looking at them.Sonic Team (February 6, 2004). Sonic Heroes. PlayStation 2. Sega. Level/Area: Opening Sequence (Team Chaotix). Weapons As a ninja Espio employs ninja-based weaponry, such as kunai and shuriken stars. He uses his shuriken stars as a long-range offensive by throwing them at opponents and can do so in rapid succession. By attaching a rope on his kunai, he can also use as a grappling hook to swing between targets. Color Powers By harnessing different variants of Hyper-go-on from Wisps, Espio can use specific Color Powers to transform into a certain form, such as a drill, a laser or even a planet, each one possessing its own unique abilities. So far, Espio has been able to transform into the Cyan Laser, Yellow Drill, and Indigo Asteroid. However, these transformations require a steady supply of Hyper-go-on to be maintained. Weakness Espio's camouflaging ability, while practical, is not perfect. Its maintenance is tied to Espio's concentration, meaning it will falter should he lose focus due to things such as being blinded by light or sneezing. His stealth is not flawless either as Rouge the Bat was able to detect his movements thanks to her heightened sense of hearing.Backbone Entertainment, Sega Studio USA (December 7, 2007). Sonic Rivals 2. PlayStation Portable. Sega. Level/area: Mystic Haunt Zone. "Rouge: Okay, who's there? I know you're following me. / Espio: Hey, how'd you know I was there... / Rouge: Espio, these ears of mine aren't just for show, you know. What are you doing here, anyway? " Relationships Shadow the Hedgehog The relationship between Espio and Shadow the Hedgehog has changed very much since their first meeting. In Sonic Heroes, they fought against each other without a question due to their assumption that the other was the enemy. However, they put their differences aside and helped each other stop Metal Sonic and his plan to rule over the world. In Shadow the Hedgehog, their relationship is more friendly. Espio gladly thanked Shadow for opening the portal to Eggman's computer and after Eggman claimed that he created Shadow, Espio told him to not believe Eggman and aided him in his battle against the doctor. Overall, Espio has put more faith in Shadow since their meeting and the two appear allies in most regard. Silver the Hedgehog When Espio first met Silver the Hedgehog, his mission was to find evidence that Silver was behind the kidnapping of several Chao. As such, Silver was a subject of doubt for Espio as he did not seem like a bad guy despite his actions. At first, Espio treated Silver like an enemy, but as he learned that Silver was working to save the world, he decided to follow his instincts and help him with his mission. During their adventure, the two of them built a good relationship as Espio proved his trustworthiness and helped Silver on many occasions. After finishing their mission, they gladly thanked each other, showing the great admiration and faith they had gained for one another. Friends/allies *Vector the Crocodile *Charmy Bee *Mighty the Armadillo *Sonic the Hedgehog *Miles "Tails" Prower *Knuckles the Echidna *Shadow the Hedgehog *Rouge the Bat *E-123 Omega *Amy Rose *Cream the Rabbit *Cheese *Big the Cat *G.U.N *Silver the Hedgehog *Blaze the Cat *Classic Sonic *Avatar Enemies *Dr. Eggman *Metal Sonic *Black Arms **Black Doom *Ifrit *Dr. Eggman Nega *Metal Sonic 3.0 *The Time Eater *Infinite In other media Animation ''Sonic X'' .]] Espio appeared with Team Chaotix in the anime ''Sonic X. Along with Vector and Charmy, Espio played a minor role in season 2, only appearing in Episode 39 to help find Cream when Chaotix was hired by Vanilla, Cream's mother (though in the end, it is Sonic who unites the two). In this episode Espio along with Vector and Charmy broke the proverbial fourth-wall by introducing themselves to the audience (Charmy mostly since he begged for more time to introduce himself). They play a larger role in Season 3, first appearing to bring Chris supplies from his parents. The second time Espio appears, he reluctantly helps Vector and Charmy help Tails get Cosmo, a girl he likes, to like him back, and after that appears with the others to help fight the Metarex. Espio states in his first appearance that he is the brains behind the Chaotix (to which Charmy claims that he's "Super Full of Himself"), when in the Sonic Heroes instruction manual, Vector is stated to be the brains. In the anime he is sometimes seen as a comic relief character as he has been hit (unintentionally) by Amy's hammer, woken up by Vector when he had pepper poured on him and was discovered in a humiliating way shortly before being clobbered. Comics ''Sonic the Comic'' In Sonic the Comic, Espio is a member of the Chaotix Crew and a native of the Special Zone. He is a friendly (or sometimes not so friendly) rival to Mighty and has an extremely short temper. The two of them will end up clashing and arguing who's the best on almost any subject, to the extent of demanding a defeated enemy says which of them had punched him the hardest.''Sonic the Comic'' #121, "On the Run, Part 1" This incarnation of the character differs significantly from the Espio portrayed in the games and Sonic X. Espio has the ability to turn invisible, although he rarely uses this talent.''Sonic the Comic'' #54, "Total Chaotix, Part 2"''Sonic the Comic'' #98, "Doomsday, Part 2" Espio's profile in Knuckles Knock-Out Special says that he was once a prisoner in Robotnik's Combi Machine, and that he has a personal grudge against Robotnik for this. However, this is never mentioned in any strip in the series, and may not be canon. Archie Comics In the Sonic the Hedgehog comics, Espio is a bonafide hothead, which causes his friend Charmy to constantly remind him of his manners. This incarnation of the character differs significantly from the Espio portrayed in the games. After the Worlds Collide event however, he has become virtually identical to his game counterpart. IDW Publishing In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing, Espio, like his game counterpart, is the Chaotix's cool and collected ninja member. He helped Sonic track down Dr. Eggman, but found him to have forgotten his identity and history. Theme songs "Team Chaotix" (although this theme is shared with Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee, Espio is mentioned in the two lines: "And the ninja stars fly, too!" and "Espio is clearly ready to go".) Quotes Trivia *According to Takashi Iizuka, Espio and the Team Chaotix in Sonic Heroes were recreated as new characters from the same characters in Knuckles' Chaotix when Sonic Heroes was designed, ignoring certain traits that had been established in Knuckles' Chaotix that would have contradicted their intent in the game. *Espio's name is thought to either have been derived from the word "espionage", meaning spying; it also may be a reference to the Spanish and Portuguese word "espío" (literally meaning "I spy"). *Espio is the only member of Team Chaotix to appear in a game (Sonic the Fighters) released between Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic Heroes. *Espio is the second-most used member of Team Chaotix. He has less game appearances than Vector but more than Charmy. *In Sonic Heroes, Espio is the only speed formation character whose shoes are not partly red. He is also the only speed formation character who is not a hedgehog. *Throughout the series, Espio's color gradually lightens from a dark purple to a light pinkish purple. *In the Shadow the Hedgehog ''boss Egg Breaker, when Shadow destroys any of Eggman's robots, Espio says, "Stop that! We can't let Eggman know we're here!" which is repeated from the previous level. However, Eggman already knows that Espio and Shadow were in his base as he is fighting them. *In ''Shadow the Hedgehog, Espio is one of the five characters to swear (the others being Shadow, Sonic, Knuckles, and the GUN Commander). *Espio is the only playable character in Sonic Rivals 2 who did not appear in the story mode of Sonic Rivals. *In Sonic Generations, Espio is the one of the two characters who did not notice Sonic was different after being rescued. The other was Vector. *Espio is the only animal character in Knuckles' Chaotix to have been created originally for that game, as Vector, Mighty, Charmy, and Knuckles had all appeared (or in Vector's case, was going to appear) in previous media: Knuckles (Sonic the Hedgehog 3), Mighty (SegaSonic the Hedgehog), Vector (Sonic the Hedgehog), Charmy Bee (''Sonic the Hedgehog'' manga). *In a cutscene from Shadow the Hedgehog, Eggman calls Shadow and Espio "rodents" although Espio is a reptile and Shadow is a hedgehog. *Espio is the only new character in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games available from the start in the 3DS version to appear as a playable character in the Wii U version. *Espio was going to appear in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing as a playable racer alongside Rouge, Vector, Blaze and Silver, but was scrapped from the final product. *Despite possessing a horn on his face, only one known species of chameleon has horns on its head in real life: Jackson's chameleon. References Category:Sonic the Hedgehog characters Category:Male video game characters Category:Sega protagonists Category:Video game bosses Category:Fictional chameleons and geckos Category:Fictional ninjas Category:Fictional private investigators Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1995